Names: Phoebe Dynevor and Chloe Domont
Notable past credits: Dynevor led the first season of “Bridgerton,” and Domont has directed several short films and episodes of “Billions” and “Shooters.”
Sundance project: “Fair Play,” written and directed by Domont. The film, a psychological relationship thriller set in the finance industry, stars Dynevor and Alden Ehrenreich. Netflix bought the film for $20 million after its premiere.
How Domont spent the night before her premiere: “I didn’t go to any events. I didn’t see anyone. I took a long walk by myself in the snow at night, and I just took in the moment and centered myself,” she says. “I roasted a chicken. And that actually really grounded me for the next couple days.”
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Dynevor was also celebrating her first film festival premiere — and her second time starring in a film. “So it’s all a whirlwind excitement for me. I’m processing it all as we go,” Dynevor says. The British actress, whose breakout role was Daphne in “Bridgerton,” leads one of this year’s buzziest Sundance titles. “Fair Play” is tense, sexy and an exploration of gender politics within a relationship and the finance industry.
“I just could relate to Emily, I think she’s very much the modern woman,” Dynevor says of her character in the film, an ambitious hedge fund trader. “I could see her in a lot of women I know, and see her in myself. I can relate to her feeling very isolated by her success and wanting to make herself smaller in order to please the men around her. It’s a great arc, and it’s kind of everything you want in a script as an actor; it’s very juicy. We had to go to a lot of crazy places in this film, and it was a joy for an actor to go to those places.”
The film, executive produced by “Knives Out” director Rian Johnson, has earned rave critical reviews and evoked a bidding war that was ultimately won by Netflix.
“It’s been great. This is what I’ve been waiting to put out there,” says Domont of audience reaction to her feature directorial debut. “People are jazzed up on the intensity of the movie, the volatility of the movie, the sexual nature of the film, the gender politics of the film and what it’s exploring.”
Sundance highlights: Asked for the highlights of her first time in Park City, Dynevor — unsurprisingly — redirected attention back to “Fair Play.”
“The premiere was really cool. Reuniting with everyone was great. And honestly today, just the reaction of the crowd,” Dynevor says. “Chloe got a standing ovation, and being there to witness that was really special. And also getting firsthand reactions from the audience in terms of how they were triggered by it, how they were moved by the film. It’s a dream to be a part of something that people are having strong reactions to, and to be in the room when they’ve just finished seeing the film. You could feel all of their emotions.”
